Learning here and learning at the real DZ...

[Liemberg 0]

This is a poll for students only - but then again we are all students.
Since most of you spend lots of time reading all this stuff here, it must have some outcome in the real world. Now in my real world life is simple: we tell the students how it is done, they try to do it, we correct if need be. Not on the staff? Don't mess with the students! Student wants a second opinion? Go to another DZ!

Why?

I have seen "several" stupid (last minute) maneuvers that were explained to me after the fact.

One example to clarify: Once upon a time I said not to step on the lines and the parachutes (in the packing hall).
Next thing I know when this class is making their first jump I see this girl on final do something really stupid. She hurt herself but luckily didn't break anything.

"What the f#$* were you thinking???"

She was thinking this: since someone else landed before her she was afraid she would end up on top of the parachute that was lying there. This was strictly forbidden - I said so myself!!!

If things can go wrong that way (I think something, then I say something, the student hears something, interprets something & the outcome may be surprising) with only me and the student involved, I don't need no additional complicating factors, thank you...

OTOH It would be nice if all the students were jumping with 'optimal knowledge' and there is a lot of first class knowledge available here. Probably more than we "at the real DZ" can provide...

DZ,com is the first place I look myself nowadays - recently I found out there was such a thing as a 'harmonized system code' for parachutes and their parts. Got it here. Was repacking a Javelin with reversed (main) risers - found out about possible issues with that setup here.

Also, every now and then some student asks something while telling us what he was told at his DZ and I 'respectfully disagree with the esteemed colleague...' (He told you WHAT? ) *)

Sooo...

*) Just thinking out loud - I wouldn't post, but that could be another poll for instructors only...

"Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but memory." - Leonardo da Vinci
A thousand words...

[USPA 0]

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He told you WHAT?

I share THOSE experiences.. ;)

The trouble with skydiving; If you stink at it and continue to jump, you'll die. If you're good at it and continue to jump, you'll see a lot of friends die...

[nathaniel 0]

If I learned only from instructors at the DZ, until two weeks ago I would have been using the 45-degree "method". As we learn altogether too frequently here, the natural process by which knowledge replaces fantasy is slow. It can stand a little assistance. A risk, tho, is that the factors leading to a skydiving decision don't always translate well into an online form and back out again. Neither do they always translate well to a classroom setting, but nobody (AFAIK) is againt FJC's.

Like other ways to learn it's a resource. It has advantages and drawbacks. YMMV

nathaniel

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[skyyhi 0]

I didn't vote because there was not a choice for: "I always double-check everything I learn here with my instructors. Sometimes they agree and sometimes not". My instructors usually (okay ALWAYS) win out - but there are a lot of instructors where I jump so they usually have lots of fresh information. I am not a student (per se) anymore but still glean lots of information from them.

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[gerryfuss 0]

I have learned so much at the DZ but I have also learned quite a bit here as well. I try to combine both sources together deciding what I agree or disagree with. I think here you get more opinions on a subjuect which ultimately makes me think about about something more. This is a good thing. Remember this is a two-way street. A lot of what we learn here comes from what happened on some DZ ,and then we are able to take that information back and share it at our own DZ.

[Zenister 0]

for most skydiving tasks there is very little that can compare to hands on training and experience...

however this site holds a such wide range of knowledge and experience from all aspects of the sport rarely found at any DZ at one time (even Eloy, Perris etc..) and additional information is always a good thing, but its up to the individual to weight the source and context of that information...

i was actually told to wait for the 45 deg angle by a very experienced skydiver at Eloy recently....

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[gale 0]

My favorite thing about reading opinions online is that there are lots of them. If I ask a question here, 5, 10, or even 30 people may respond, but there might be only one or two people available at the drop zone. This gives me a much better information base with which to make a decision.

It's also a big advantage to talk to people who are very current on training techniques and up to the minute procedures. That information may take a while to filter down to the smaller drop zones.

Personally, I have learned lots of things through reading online that I may never have learned in person, but that's just me.

I'm drowning...so come inside
Welcome to my...dirty mind

[Chrisky 0]

I'm not a student (by "status", still like learning new stuff though), but i have learned TONs of things just lurking in gear and rigging and S&T.
I didn't vote as this is another polarized vote without the "what i learned here i do discuss with my instructor/rigger" inbetween, that i guess most people use.

Especially for students it is not always easy to just hop by a different DZ to get a second opinion.

For me, going to a different DZ on my own for the first time was a factor exciting enough. Once you have done it a couple of times, a lot of it becomes routine. I still do my first jump at a new DZ a solo, belly to earth after 6000 ft. It's completely new surroundings, after all.

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

[nael 0]

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"what i learned here i do discuss with my instructor/rigger"

I'd go for that option too. If someone says something here that makes me think, or I think might be wrong or whatever, I ask instructors at the dz. I have also asked more experienced skydivers at the dz questions (bad me!), but usually only in conversation. If they told me anything I wasnt sure about, I'd definately ask an instructor to double check what i'd been told. Usually theres an instructor hanging around in these conversations anyway, so I assume they'de speak up if anyone said anything that they disagreed with. I was told on tuesday at the dz that I'd learn who to listen to and whos opinion to disregard, the guy then said "dont listen to me, or any of these fools!".

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[bch7773 0]

what about the option: "A lot of people at my DZ use dz.com" ?

this website has taught me a bunch of stuff that I wouldn't have learned about at the DZ, simply because we don't have gear or safety/training discussion groups at the DZ.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[kelpdiver 2]

The AFF students get hit with so much information during the FJC and their pre jump training for the levels. It's virtually impossible to keep up with all of it, and that may not be evident during the jumps if the particular issue doesn't come up. A lot of those gaps can be filled here, or the explanations may make more sense given at a slower pace. A big concern at the DZ is not giving so much information that the student loses track, but in general I don't like the approach.

Gets a little dicier with the conflicting opinions on some of the either/or calls, but that's true at the DZ too when you get different AFF-Is.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

I'm not voting, as I'm not a student anymore...but as a skydiver, I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket with anything...I don't follow anyone blindly. If I don't understand the advice, I will ask questions until it makes sense. If I get contradicting info, I ask multiple sources, with something like "What do you think about ?" I don't go with the ole "THIS person said to do it THIS way" or any other such silly tattle-tale kind of stuff; but I am an intelligent enough person to know that no single person on earth holds the answers to all questions, so I like to draw on the experiences of many and then make the decision that I feel will best save my life. -Doesn't that make sense? Isn't that kinda what we all do, though?

I will not, however, GIVE advice to anyone on 'skydiving'; obviously. I like it when students ask me questions; it gives me a chance to talk-up their instructors.."You know, 'X' has been in this sport for years, he was MY instructor, and he's a great guy. He'd give you better info than I could for sure."

-I will give advice on my own fields of expertise if asked, which lie outside of this sport.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Jarcie 0]

Instructors sometimes tell students different things. They have different experiences and opinions, so will give different information or advice. They all have something valuable to say. It took me a while before I realized I would have to start deciding for myself whose advice to take.

When it comes to dz.com, however, I'm with skyyhi -- I double-check what I learn here at my real dz.

I think more knowledge is always a good thing (although I agree with kelpdiver that the student has a lot of information to digest right at first). DZ.com provides some good information and discussion, but I look at who is doing the talking.

One thing I can definitely say is that I have a better understanding of the skydiving community in general because of dz.com. Knowing about "100 jump wonders" is a good thing -- I've known from very early on that, when anyone at a dz asks me a skydiving-related question, I should refer him/her to an instructor or more experienced person. That's been valuable information, especially since our natural tendency is to want to help.

[Nightingale 0]

the website gives me ideas about things to ask my instructors. so, next time I see them, I ask.

[Shark 0]

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I am not a student (per se) anymore but still glean lots of information from them.

Only when you by us beer....

[riddler 0]

Think of dz.com just like the rest of the Internet - a place for ideas. You'll hear stuff here that you won't hear from your instructors. Do a little research on an idea, if it sounds interesting, then ask your instructor at the DZ.

Take into account who is making the statement. Do they have 50 jumps? Or 5,000 jumps? I've heard bad advice from people with 5,000 jumps, too, but most of the time, they have good ideas. An keep in mind that something that is right for a very experienced jumper may not be right for you.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[sducoach 0]

Riddler,

The best response I've seen. You are way ahead of your "jump experience" with your perception and attitude. I applaud you, your maturity, and your response.

As with any type of learning it is a process of "stealing" the best from all and using what works for you and your style of learning. Rules and regulations are black and white, in most cases, things such as ethics, professionalism, and others knowledge may not be.

I have listened to candidates in courses spout the same old responses they heard concerning a situation without knowing what is really going on simply because "thats what my instructor said".

Any skydiver should leave his home DZ right after achieving their license, take a trip to other DZs and experience the "world". You will continue to grow if you do so.

Glad to jump or work with you anytime.

Blues,

J.E.

James 4:8

[KrisFlyZ 0]

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what about the option: "A lot of people at my DZ use dz.com" ?

That would be an exception rather than the rule. dropzone.com is a bad word around DZs.